Newcomers to Egyptology are always reminded that the ancient Egyptians did not possess a concept of history and historiography as we understand them. They were able to record historical events but they did not try to discern trends and patterns and to uncover causes and preconditions, something which we regard as essential when dealing with the past - well, perhaps with the exception of some of the costume dramas currently shown on television. Historical trend spotting may not be easy at a remove of several decades, centuries, or in the case of ancient Egypt, several millennia. But it is even more difficult to be aware of important developments which are taking place while we are living through them. I suspect that something like this is now happening, in a small way, in Egyptology and ancient Near Eastern studies.

Egyptology is the study of ancient Egypt in all its aspects, from the earliest evidence of human activities in the Nile valley to the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, through the Ptolemaic period and the remnants of Egyptian culture which are still clearly discernible in the wonderfully heady mixture of styles under the Romans.

I shall not try to speak on behalf of our colleagues whose interests lie further to the East, along the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. But while they are not personally represented here today, their interests are just as close to our hearts as Egyptology, and when I refer to 'Egyptology', please understand it as 'Egyptology and ancient Near Eastern studies'.

When compared with subjects such as physics, chemistry, or medicine, Egyptology is a tiny field. But things are changing fast. I remember Jaroslav Cerny, the former Professor of Egyptology at Oxford, telling me that he read everything published on ancient Egypt, including reviews. This was not such a long time ago, but now it would be impossible. In relatively small subjects, with a limited number of serious participants, it is essential that resources are administered wisely, that research is conducted efficiently and is not duplicated. Time is not on our side and the unrelenting march of industrialization, extension of agriculture, and the depredations caused by looting of Egyptian sites are unstoppable. Evidence is being lost every day. Organization of our resources is, therefore, one of the highest priorities.

Oxford has always been at the forefront of such efforts because of the ability of its scholars to look ahead and anticipate developments. Francis Llewellyn Griffith, Sir Alan Gardiner, Jaroslav erný and Rosalind Moss are just a few names to mention; there have been many others.

The Egyptological collection of books and pamphlets in the Sackler Library is one of the best in the world. Here tribute must be paid to the Griffith Institute which provides most of the finances needed for the purchase of books, to the librarians past as well as present for their support and understanding, and to those who are at the sharp end of the care for the Egyptological and ancient Near Eastern books. The importance of this outstanding Egyptological library reaches far beyond the sometimes rather parochial confines of Oxford. When combined with the resources of the incomparable Bodleian and the other University libraries represented on OLIS, the opportunities for research offered in Oxford are unparalleled.

Until recently there were few Egyptological publications on the World Wide Web which scholars or librarians had to take seriously. Charlatanism in Egyptology is probably unmatched in any other subject. But the situation is now changing. If the Sackler Library wishes to retain its leading position among Egyptological libraries, it has to define its policy towards digital publications and ensure that those which are of importance are available to its readers. How this might be achieved is one of the main topics for discussion before us. As far as we know, nobody in Egyptology has yet woken up to this challenge.

There is another reason why this meeting is taking place in Oxford. Every Egyptologist knows that the Griffith Institute produces the Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts. The present form of the publications belies its title. It is, in fact, a comprehensive catalogue of ancient Egyptian monuments. The Top. Bib. or Porter-Moss, as it is known, contains references to published as well as unpublished sources of all kinds, and lists even material which has never been published. It is, therefore, essential that important digital publications are included in it. Referring to digital publications is almost unknown in Egyptology. The Annual Egyptological Bibliography which is published in Leiden does not include such material.

The main problem is that the material on the World Wide Web is unstable in the extreme. Publications change or disappear completely and to refer to a publication which is unobtainable not only does not help, but positively hinders research. Here the interests of the Sackler Library and the Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts overlap. We have to find ways which would enable electronic publications to enter the mainstream of Egyptological research and to become partners of the traditionally published studies on equal terms.

Egyptologists and cuneiform scholars are, by nature, traditionalists. Their approach to new information technology is cautious. But there is no doubt that this new technology has now arrived and, whether we like it or not, we must face up to the new challenges it presents. It is essential that problems associated with it are discussed now, while the situation is still manageable and can be contained.

There is a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience gathered around this table and we are grateful to you for agreeing to take part in this meeting. We, as Egyptologists, wish to learn from you. We do not want to try to discover things with which you may already be familiar. But I hope that this will not look as a case of blatant exploitation, even if the idea was not entirely absent from our minds. A discussion always opens new vistas and encourages new thinking and we hope that it will be at least to some extent as useful to you as, I am sure, it will be- to us.

(December 12, 2003)

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